Emma Watson Will Front Sofia Coppola's Bling Ring

After Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 brought an end to the world-adored fantasy franchise, the series' enchanting ingénue Emma Watson said she was going to take a break from acting to focus on her studies. However, since then she's stolen scenes in the eye-catching indie My Week With Marilyn, performed in the in-the-can teen-drama The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and entered talks for David Yates' Your Voice in My Head as well as Guillermo del Toro's twist on Beauty and the Beast, simply titled Beast. Now, while Watson is still pursuing her degree, it seems she's shrewdly using her educational pursuits as an excuse to be highly selective on her post-Potter film choices. So it speaks well of Sofia Coppola's next venture, titled The Bling Ring, that the discerning Miss Watson has just signed on to star.

In The Bling Ring, it seems Watson will play the ringleader of a teenaged band of burglars, whose specialty is robbing the Hollywood homes of celebrities. Variety reveals that the script, penned by Coppola, was inspired by a similar string of crimes that rocked Los Angeles just a few years back. Beyond this, details on The Bling Ring are scarce. We do know Coppola will direct and produce, and that she plans to shoot in Los Angeles, but we are left to speculate on the genre and ponder who else will join Watson's girl gang.

Personally, I'm hoping Coppola is breaking out of her comfort zone with this one, and that the sassy title The Bling Ring is a hint to a more brightly comedic offering from the ethereal auteur. Now, I'm not hoping for full-on broad comedy like Sugar & Spice, just something starker and a bit more lively. Coppola's got an incredible talent for crafting elegant cinema with her chosen ingénues, but I'm hoping The Bling Ring's reckless premise will give her a chance to try something new while shooting in her old stomping grounds. As to who else could sign on, feel free to tell us your picks in comments.